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Caroline B. Brettell and Deborah Reed-Danahay Chapter 7 “Communities of Practice” for Civic and Political Engagement: Asian Indian and Vietnamese Immigrant Organizations in a Southwest Metropolis The voluntary immigrant associations that provide the context for the events described in the vignettes that follow are important to processes of political incorporation and good citizenship because it is often through such organizations that immigrants become aware of the problems and possibilities of American civic life and participation in the public sphere—that is, the realm between the private and that of governmental institutions (Habermas 1989). VIGNETTE #1 On April 21, 2006, the Irving DFW Indian Lion’s Club held its annual fundraising banquet. About 300 people, the majority of them Asian Indians, were in attendance . The formal part of the evening, with a Hispanic woman from one of the local television stations serving as the Master of Ceremonies, began with the pledge of allegiance and the singing of both the American and Indian national anthems. Several local dignitaries were recognized—a judge from one of the juvenile courts, the mayor of Flower Mound (a Dallas-Fort Worth area suburb), and city council members from several other communities in the area. The president addressed the audience by describing the mission of the club, founded eleven years earlier—“Vision without action is merely a dream; vision with action can change the world.” He suggested that the club, through its actions, including the primary care clinic in Lewisville and the Grace home for the handicapped in India, had grown in stature and impact. During the evening, a citizen of the year award was given to the founder (an Anglo) of Thanksgiving Square, an interfaith center in downtown Dallas. Also honored were a nurse of the year (of Indian origin) and a policewoman (an Anglo) who won the community award. Four high school students of various ethnic backgrounds were given $500 college scholarships and a social worker (Indian origin) was recognized as the Lion of the Year. The president also enumerated the financial contributions made by the club to various charity activities over the past year—$20,000 to the primary care clinic; $10,000 to the Sight Foundation; and $500 to the American Diabetes Foundation. A live auction raised additional funds, as did the evening raffle. Following some cultural entertainment, Carole Keeton Strayhorn, Texas state comptroller and an independent candidate in the 2006 Texas gubernatorial race addressed the crowd through video. She had been scheduled to appear in person, but an emergency session of the Texas legislature prohibited her from attending . After recognizing the generosity of Lions serving the DFW community, Ms. Strayhorn delivered a campaign speech. The surprise guest of the evening was Kinky Friedman, another independent gubernatorial candidate. He enraptured the audience with his own, highly entertaining campaign speech. VIGNETTE #2 On April 15, 2006, the Vietnamese American Community (VAC) of Tarrant County held the grand opening of its new community center. On this sunny Saturday afternoon, the official proceedings began with a ribbon cutting outside, in front of the main door to the center. Flanked by American and South Vietnam flags (the latter often referred to as the Freedom and Heritage flag), Vietnamese leaders were joined by the Filipino president of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, the chairman of the Dallas VAC, and local politicians—including the mayor pro tem of Arlington, Texas, a city council member, and political candidates for state office. There were several brief speeches by these male leaders, celebrating the VAC and its presence in this region of north Texas. Attending this event were at least 200 Vietnamese Americans of various ages, but primarily both older and middle-aged adults and their children (who ranged from college age to infants and toddlers). The local politicians and an anthropologist were among the handful of non-Vietnamese in attendance. Various rooms were set up inside the community center for viewing, including the new computer room where instruction in the Internet is being offered especially to older people, and a room where ESL classes are taught. A dedication ceremony was held in an assembly hall decorated with an altar to the ancestors (a Vietnamese cultural symbol that can be shared by both Buddhist and Catholic participants) displaying objects of symbolic cultural meaning to the Vietnamese. This altar was, like the front door, flanked by United States and South Vietnamese flags. The new logo for the VAC was also on display at the community center, with its map of Vietnam...

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